4 ms·

The Nazis were preceded by, and did not coin that term: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/30683/is-if-you-have-nothing-to-hide-you-have-nothing-to-fe

The Nazis were preceded by, and did not coin that term: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/30683/is-if-you-have-nothing-to-hide-you-have-nothing-to-fear-a-line-used-by-joseph https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/30683/is-if-you... I don't know much about surveillance in Nazi Germany, but do know that East Germany and the Soviet Union were infamous for it. So if you define present-day political factions based on the actions of their near-century-old relatives (and ignore their present-day preferences), then surveillance is both far-right and far-left. Then look at how moderate parties simply go along with increasing surveillance, or how bipartisan PATRIOT act extensions are, and conclude that surveillance is also a centrist position. Attributing mass surveillance to any section of the 1-D political spectrum is misleading at best, deceptive at worst.

varispeed 3y ago
Fair enough. However, this phrase always come up when discussing authoritarian regimes and their mass surveillance to maintain control over population. It sort of encapsulates the state of mind that someone might have living under such a regime, where if they don't any attract attention, then they may have a chance to live in peace. That said, I have ventured on some far-left forums being curious about how that side of the political spectrum view those policies and I was quite surprised that they generally approve of them and think that if ever a far left government comes to power, they will be able to use those powers to the benefit of their agenda. But there is no denial that current Conservative government is far right leaning.